


Starting Point

by funkybear



Category: Pentagon (Korea Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Mentioned Yang Hongseok, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-23
Updated: 2019-04-23
Packaged: 2020-01-24 12:52:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18571876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funkybear/pseuds/funkybear
Summary: Changgu thinks it is a good idea to find someone for Yanan without telling him. Yanan only wanted to watch his drama.





	Starting Point

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: first tinder date

“Hey Yanan, how do you find this guy? He lives pretty close.” Changgu asks him from his spot on the floor.

Yanan’s attention is diverted from the TV to the small device in his best friend’s hands. Slender guy, light caramel brown hair (probably a balayage?), black coat, ears pierced, pretty cool cross earring, _why don’t I have one_ , gentle smile. Yeah, he looks nice. Would be perfect for Changgu, if the ‘tinder’ written on top of the screen is anything to go by.

“He looks nice. Would be a good boyfriend, I’m sure.”

“You really think so? Okay, so that’s a keeper.”

Changgu smiles and goes back to tap on his phone. He looks happy. Yanan smiles too, glad to be of some help. His thoughts are cut by the sound of the TV, it’s a re-run of _Touch Your Heart_. He settles back on the couch, legs dangling from their spot on the armrest, and head comfortable between two cushions. He laughs at something the female lead does.

“Yanan! He answered!! What do I say!!!” he gets interrupted by Changgu again. He sighs. “I don’t know, ask him how he’s doing-” “He’s fine!” the reply is immediate, it takes Yanan aback. “Okay? Then what does he likes?” “Spicy food.” Once again, immediate. What’s up with Changgu today?

“Oh yeah by the way, when are you free?” it takes a second for Yanan to realize Changgu is asking him and not speaking aloud whatever he’s asking the guy on the app.

“Do you want to go somewhere?”

Changgu makes a non-committal sound. “That’s a surprise. So when?”

Yanan figures maybe he’s trying to manage his time with his friends so it doesn’t mingle with his love life, so he tells him he’s free all week-end and leaves it at that. Although he doesn’t know why Changgu would download an app like Tinder when Hongseok has been here all this time. _Give the poor man a break, Changgu._ Maybe he should text him, just to warn him his crush is running free in a dating app.

He searches for his phone on the table only to find it free of any objects. Maybe he just let it in his room. He turns off the TV and reluctantly gets up from the couch to head toward his room. He wasn’t focused on his drama anymore, anyway. He searches his bed first, then his desk to no avail. Panic starts to settle in. He rushes out of his room to ask his flatmate.

“Changgu, have you seen my pho-” Changgu freezes. Yanan recognizes the device in his hands. He sighs in relief. He walks toward Changgu, brows furrowed, asking for an explanation.

“I’m only helping you!” he says, putting the phone on the table and holding up his arms in surrender. Yanan takes his phone and unlocks it. The picture of the same man from before is looking at him and the device vibrates at the notification of a new message from a certain Jun, 24 years old. The message reads “ _I’ll see you on sunday then!! Its a date_ ”.

Yanan looks at it for a few minutes, jaw going slack. He scrolls up the chat and finds all the questions he asked in order to help Changgu, along with the answers Changgu gave him. It’s silent in the room, Changgu waiting for Yanan to say something. So he does.

“I’m cancelling.” he starts typing an apology to ‘Jun’.

“W-Wait no! Yanan listen!” Changgu scrambles to hide the screen from Yanan, preventing him from typing. The latter shoots him a glare. “Erm, how about giving it a shot? I’m positive Jun is a good guy! You said he would be a great boyfriend!”

“I said that because I thought it was for you!”

“But you considered it!”

Yanan closes his eyes. The man did look nice, and he was his age, but he was not looking for someone. He was perfectly satisfied with himself as of now. He thinks about how to explain it to Changgu, but is interrupted before.

“I know what you’re going to say. But since... I’m going to be busier now, I thought maybe…” he trails off, blush creeping up his cheeks. Yanan raises an eyebrow. “Big reveal! I’m dating Hongseok!” Changgu blurts out at amazing speed, averting his eyes. Yanan’s own widen at the news, and a smile makes it way to his face. He really can’t stay mad at his best friend, even less when he announces him such news.

“That’s really nice Changgu. I’m happy for you.”

“Y-Yeah so I figured you’d want someone too! Just so you’re not feeling left out… I’m sorry for not telling you about it.” he makes himself small.

“Don’t worry. I will manage something.” He shoots him a reassuring thumb up. “Maybe I’ll talk to this Jun myself. Thank you Changgu, it’s okay, really.”

“You’re not mad?” he asks. Yanan tilts his head. “You want me to be?” Changgu shakes his head franctically, and they both laugh at the action. It’s okay, he’ll do something about it. And if he’s really not feeling it, he trust Changgu to not be mad at him for cancelling.  
  


* * *

  
Later in the day, when the sun already set and Yanan is getting ready for bed, he thinks back about the problems at hands. He lets himself fall on his bed before he opens the app and searches for his chat history with Jun. He looks at his screen for a long moment before he decides on a message to send.

_Hello. I’m sorry about earlier, it was my friend._

The reply is immediate, just like this afternoon. It’s as if the man is always on his phone.

 **Jun:** what do you mean?

He starts typing. _My friend thought it would be a good idea to find someone for me because he won’t be able to hang out with me anymore._ The bubble indicating Jun is typing appears almost automatically.

 **Jun:** oh wow that’s sad

 **Jun:** I understand where hes coming from though

 **Jun:** so what do you want to do? cancel our plans?

 **Jun:** or the plans i made with your friend, rather

 **Jun:** it’s a shame but hey, if you don’t want to

Yanan is glad this ‘Jun’ is so understanding, but he feels like he would let him down if he were to cancel. It was his original plan, but briefly talking to the man made him reconsider. He sounded genuine, if anything. So he types, _No, maybe I’ll give you a chance. I did think you were handsome when he showed me your picture._

 **Jun:** are you flirting with me now, real Yanan!

_Is this not what I’m supposed to do?_

**Jun:** you’re not wrong but im getting a bit flustered here

 **Jun:** i think you’re really cute

 **Jun:** i’d put you in my pocket

_I doubt I’ll fit, I’m really tall ):_

**Jun:** you get the idea!

 **Jun:** is your hair really silver though? thats cool

Yanan passes a hand in his hair, his bangs falling back in place to cover his forehead. He never really thought it looked cool, just weird. He’s been too used to black hair all his life. It was Hongseok’s idea to dye his hair, after Yanan has been staring weirdly at his head for months after he got his own hair colored. He’s still weirded out when he looks at himself every morning. At least the shock wakes him up.

_Is it, my friend’s doing._

**Jun:** well your friend is really something! i should thank them maybe

_What for?_

**Jun:** letting me meet you.

Yanan’s breath catches in his throat. That’s very open flirting you’ve got here, Jun. Yanan’s not sure how to answer to that, or if Jun is expecting an answer at all. He sinks back in his bed and types the easiest way he knows to run away from a conversation.

_I’m going to sleep now._

**Jun:** oh okay! good night yanan

He smiles at the text and decides he could send a _good night_ too as a last message. He makes sure to text Changgu before drifting off to sleep. _I might go to that date after all_.

 

* * *

 

Talking with Jun is surprisingly easy. They’ve been talking to each other for two days while waiting for Sunday to come. Today. Yanan thinks the days went by a bit too quickly. He looks at his phone, waiting for Jun to send him a message. He doesn’t know when he started to wait for the other’s texts, but he doesn’t really mind. Changgu has been right about not spending as much time with him as before, he almost never sees him outside from their night routine. They’re still living together, but it’s sad to realize how easy it is for their schedule to not match. So in the meantime, he’s been talking to Jun.

He’s learnt the other is a real social butterfly, friends with almost anyone. He’s so outgoing Yanan fears he’ll feel a bit out of place when they’ll meet; he doesn’t have as much confidence as he does through text. Jun assured him he had nothing to worry about, but bad thoughts are hard to get rid of. But it’s really nice how Jun tries to make him feel comfortable.

Yanan is still fairly new to love. He had a hard time trying to grasp the concept of an application meant to link people searching for love. Like, what was he supposed to do after meeting Jun? Date him? That’s very fast. Yanan thinks Jun is a very handsome good friend, a bit on the flirty side, but not someone who would date Yanan. Yanan wasn’t exactly the perfect boyfriend. He clearly wasn’t as beautiful as Jun, not as considerate, very awkward, had a hard time expressing his thoughts clearly, and often could come off as rude. He doesn’t think anyone would want to date him. He’s sure Jun will back off after the first meeting. _I’m sorry, I don’t think it’ll work out between us._ He hopes they can stay friend. He hopes this can work.

He gets startled by the small buzz of his phone. It’s Jun.

 **Jun:** heading out in a few!

They agreed to meet at the train station. Yanan lives a bit closer to it than Jun, so he still has a few minutes before heading out. They would have went to a restaurant, but Jun insisted it was more of a night activity and he wanted the two of them to have the whole day together. Yanan thinks Jun would be fed up with Yanan way before the day ends, but Jun insisted. It’s nice, how eager he seems to want to meet Yanan. It’s cute. He replies a _i’m heading out too_ , and looks at his mirror for last checks.

He’s wearing a white v-neck sweater with red lining, and black pants. He didn’t want it to be too formal, he wasn’t meeting Jun for a boyfriend interview. He hopes he didn’t read into it wrong, it would be embarrassing if Jun showed up in a suit, and at this point he’s too scared to ask him directly. Maybe they should have planned their meeting better.

His phone starts ringing. It’s an alarm. Right. He put one on the first day to not forget he had to meet Jun. He doesn’t think he would have forgotten, but it’s best to be cautious. He turns off the alarm, picks up his keys, and takes a deep breath.

So this is happening.

He’s nervous. He remembers Jun told him it will be okay, and he gathers all his courage to leave his flat. He can’t keep Jun waiting forever when he promised to be here. He closes the door when outside, and starts walking toward the station.

When he gets there, it’s surprisingly empty. Jun is nowhere to be found for now, and there isn’t much people taking public transport today, contrary to usual. He finds a spot where he can wait patiently without bringing too much attention to himself and starts typing. _I’m waiting near the entrance._

When he sends his message and look up, a man is standing before him, looking right at him. White button up (clearly not buttoned up, my god), black cardigan and washed jeans. Light caramel brown hair, gentle smile. Bright eyes. Very bright eyes. _It’s Jun._

Yanan just _knows_ it’s Jun.

Well, to be honest he’s seen him too many times on his profile picture so he really wouldn’t be able to mistake him for anyone else. But the realization that ‘Jun’ from the application is standing right in front of him, directing him such a dazzling smile, Yanan has to take a moment. Too long he doesn’t realize Jun is waving a hand to check if he’s focusing.

“Are you okay?” his smile disappears. No, no, no. “Y-Yes!” Yanan replies hastily. “I’m sorry. I was a bit shocked. You,” he pauses, recomposing himself, “look very good.”

Jun’s eyes widen and he averts his gaze to look at anything but Yanan. The latter immediately panics, clutching his phone to his chest. “D-did i say something wrong? Did I make you uncomfortable? I’m sorry I-”

“No, no! That’s not it that’s…” Jun’s hand is hiding his face, the man clearly flustered. “I mean, thank you. You look good too.” he smiles again, and Yanan lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Jun’s eyes scan him, now that he is looking at Yanan again, and Yanan thinks he should feel exposed but he surprisingly doesn’t mind.

“Okay. Okay. So… Jun,” he says, and “Yup, Yanan,” Jun replies.

They take a minute to just indulge in each other’s presence, smiles directed at each other, thousands of thoughts of what to say passing by, but none of them taking the first step. And it’s fine, it’s like them, just like that.

“Should we go?” Jun asks, breaking the silence.

Yanan starts walking, and they both leave the station. They don’t really have a place to go to in mind, but it doesn’t matter.

They walk down downtown side by side, talking about small things they see on the street, such as the cute cat plushie on display, or how most of the shops are closed on Sunday so the streets are not as lively, but it’s not such a bad thing because they can give their full attention to each other that way

Jun never stops talking, never lets the conversation die, never lets awkward silences take over. Yanan really could listen to Jun talking everyday. “Your voice is really pretty.” he says without thinking. Jun stops walking to look at him, a bit incredulous. “I mean, it’s really easy to listen to. I don’t know if it makes sense.” Yanan clarifies.

“It really doesn’t.” Jun replies, and Yanan would feel bad if it wasn’t for the mischievous smile Jun was directing him. “Maybe I’ll need you to elaborate on this.”

 _Ah, right. As teasing as ever._ “You know, you talk just like you text. It’s fascinating how much personality you can put into text. It’s really just… you. So when you speak, it’s very easy to picture. It matches the idea I had of you talking.” the explanation doesn’t seem to satisfy Jun. “Please don’t make me say more, it’s embarrassing.”

Jun starts laughing. “I’m just teasing you! Thank you. You have a funny way of thinking.”

“Oh, maybe I’ll need you to elaborate on this.”

“Now come on!” he hits Yanan lightly on the shoulder. Yanan feigns hurt, but they just end up laughing together.

“Oh yeah! How about we go to the Han River?” the brunette questions. “I’m sure the cherry blossoms are a real sight.”

Yanan loves the idea. He’d love to walk down the riverside with Jun, but he realizes cherry blossom season meant mass of people going flower viewing on a Sunday afternoon. Jun senses something is wrong when he asks, “Yanan?”

“It might be a little crowded,” Yanan whispers, and he hopes Jun will understand. He sees Jun’s arms fall limp next to him and he starts to expect the worse, but Jun is smiling at him. He is always smiling at him. This gentle smile that seems to throw all Yanan’s worries out the window.

“Are you more of an in-door person?” Jun asks innocently. Yanan nods in response. “Okay. Maybe we can rest at a café nearby until there’s less people at the river, alright?” _I’d like that. A lot_. He smiles apologetically, and Jun tells him he shouldn’t worry about it.

Yanan thinks Jun would have been the type to drink hard coffee, but here they are ordering two vanilla lattes, a brioche for Yanan and a lemon cake for Jun. Soft and surprisingly fitting. They sit at a booth close to the window panel so they can still see a bit of the cherry blossoms even if they’re not right beneath them. It’s a pretty scenery. Jun’s mouth moving while he talks about another one of his crazy days, his head resting on his hand, facing the cherry blossoms might be even prettier. He tries not to voice this thought.

He’s taken aback by the sudden question, though. “Am I that mesmerizing? You keep looking at me,” the man sits back, white teeth peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he drinks his latte. He must think this is very funny. Yanan can indulge him. “What if you are?”

Jun’s smile widen. “You’re really cute, you know that.”

“Yeah, you told me five minutes into our first conversation. Something about putting me in your pocket.”

“Two days ago me obviously knew what he was talking about.” Jun bends over fork in hand, his latte forgotten. He looks at Yanan to ask for permission to take a bite of his brioche. Yanan lets him.

He watches Jun tentatively lick the piece of bread before putting the whole thing in his mouth. Not very distinguished. Yanan just laughs at the action.   

It’s when Jun tilts his head that Yanan’s eyes take in the earring. It’s different from the cross one in the picture. His hand instinctively go up to feel the piece of metal.

“You changed your earring.”

Jun flinches at the touch, swallowing hard the food and suddenly cautious of his every move. “Ah, right. It’s not the same one as the picture.” His ears are red. It’s cute. Yanan realized Jun gets flustered really easily. He’s a lot less flirty, but he also wears his heart on his sleeve. It makes Yanan want to tease him more.  

“I’ve been wondering where you bought the cross one. I really liked it.”

Jun smiles sheepishly. “I’ll make sure to wear it next time, then.”

“Next time?” Yanan asks without thinking. Jun seems confused at the question, muttering a _yeah?_ , but after a few seconds, his mouth makes a o-shape and he looks at the table, expression dark. “You don’t want a next time. That’s right. I’m sorry I assumed.” his hand go up to cover his ear.

 _That’s not-_ Yanan scrambles to explain himself. “That’s not it! But I really thought you wouldn’t want a next time because you’d realize I’m actually boring and complicated to be with and didn’t really fit with you because I wasn’t as outgoing and only had two friends or so and how the whole thing was thank to my friend to begin with so it’s not really me you got interested in and-” he stops abruptly. Jun seems worried, and Yanan is afraid he said something bad again. “I’m sorry I’m terrible at expressing myself.” And he feels bad, so bad he could dig a hole right here and hide in it until the day ends. He closes his eyes, not courageous enough to look at Jun.

He feels a hand on his hair. It’s not his. The touch is light, and it prompts him to open his eyes just the slightest. It is followed by sound, the same voice he listened to all day. “Don’t say that. I’m at fault too for jumping to conclusions.” Jun tilts Yanan’s head just a little so he could get a glimpse of his face. “I just want to make it clear that I want to see you again, and I’m not leaving you a choice here.” he smiles. It’s so easy to get lost in his smile. So easy to get lost in Jun’s whole presence. It makes Yanan smile, his body reacting on his own to the male.   

“Also I’ve maybe talked to your friend half an hour or so, but I’ve known you for more than two days, and yeah it’s not much either but it’s not comparable,” he laughs nervously, “I-...” his eyes look elsewhere for a second, “...really like talking to you, so… please don’t get any bad ideas. I’m just as awkward. It’s my first time meeting someone like this. You make me really nervous.” Jun takes Yanan’s hand in his, and Yanan makes no move to stop him.

It’s silent. It’s okay. It’s a silent acknowledgement. It takes time to get comfortable. They’re okay. Yanan has to stop thinking. “Okay.” he whispers. “Okay.” Jun repeats, still holding Yanan’s hands. He squeezes them gently.

Yanan decides to be honest. “You make me nervous too.”

“I can see that.” Jun retorts. He looks up at Yanan, trying to hold in his laughter because of the situation. He fails, though.

“It’s not funny.” Yanan says, pouting. Jun doesn’t stop laughing. It’s okay. Everything is okay.

Jun doesn’t let go of Yanan’s hand when they leave the café and resume walking, this time with less people around, but still as beautiful as ever cherry blossoms.

 

* * *

 

The date ends where it started. Back at the station, filled with a bit more people than this morning. In the end, they didn’t go to a restaurant at all, feeling better with some street food to end the day. But it’s okay, because Yanan thinks they don’t need formal to get to know each other. Casual fits them much better.

Their hands are still linked. They had to separate once or twice to eat properly, but in the end Yanan’s hand always found its way to Jun’s. It doesn’t have to mean anything, hand holding can be platonic. But maybe, just maybe, he might want to be more than friends with Jun. And maybe, he realized, just maybe, Jun wants to spend more time with him in that way. But they’ll have to discuss that another time. It’s too soon to decide on anything. He’ll have to tell Changgu everything, if he manages to catch him. Maybe he could get some advices, too.

He watches Jun’s disappearing figure, often looking back to see if Yanan is still there and waving with a bright smile when he realizes he is, and he can’t help but repeat Jun’s last words before parting.

 _I’ll see you next time_. Dusk sky. Shadows hiding rose cheeks. Eye smile. Earring dangling. His hand in his. Black cardigan fleeting with the wind, caramel hair following the movement. It made such a beautiful picture. One Yanan commits to memory.

He realizes belatedly they didn’t take any picture to commemorate their meeting. He’d love to have a picture together, one he could look at and remember the whole experience wasn’t a lucid dream.

 

Maybe they could talk about taking one together then, for the next time.

  


**Author's Note:**

> I've been really sad and writing wyw is my form of therapy so the whole thing probably makes no sense, but im happy now
> 
> you can send me cute wyw date ideas on my ([cc](https://curiouscat.me/frenchbears))  
> thank you for reading!


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